HDAN urges political parties to put housing at centre of 2027 campaign manifestos
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Nigeria's Housing Development Advocacy Network has called on political parties and candidates to present clear, measurable and properly funded housing strategies in the 2027 elections, saying housing must become a major campaign issue.
The Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN) has tasked political parties and candidates in Nigeria to move beyond promises on security, healthcare, infrastructure and economic growth, and to prioritise housing at the centre of national conversation ahead of the 2027 elections.
The group lamented that housing has for too long appeared in political manifestos as a few paragraphs promising thousands or millions of homes, noting that after elections many of those promises disappear while rents continue to rise, mortgage access remains difficult, land administration becomes cumbersome and construction costs keep increasing.
In a new report by its Research and Economic Unit, HDAN argued that housing is not merely about putting roofs over people's heads but is directly connected to poverty reduction, employment creation, infrastructure development, public health, family stability and wealth creation. "Every candidate seeking to govern Nigeria should therefore be prepared to answer one fundamental question: Where and how will Nigerians live under your government?" the group said.
HDAN said a serious housing manifesto should explain how a candidate intends to deal with land administration, how quickly Nigerians will be able to obtain titles, what will be done about the high cost of land, how governments will make serviced land available for affordable housing, and how land administration will be digitised and made more transparent.
The group also stressed that candidates must explain their mortgage strategy, warning that it is not enough to promise to build houses when millions of Nigerian workers cannot obtain affordable long-term finance to purchase them. It called for mortgage reform, rent-to-own programmes, housing cooperatives and pension-backed housing finance to become election issues, with candidates stating what mortgage interest rates they hope to achieve and how access would be expanded.
HDAN expressed concern that the rising cost of building materials - including cement, steel, roofing sheets, tiles, glass and aluminium - must feature prominently in the 2027 campaign debate, and said candidates should state what they intend to do about rising rents, inadequate rental supply and the shortage of affordable accommodation in rapidly growing cities. The group said Nigerians must demand more than promises, asking how many homes candidates will deliver, for which income groups, at what price and location, and what mortgage interest rates buyers will pay.